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It’s been almost 3 years since the original Samsung Galaxy Fold Huawei Mate X was pushed out. They are both stunning devices that ushered in an exciting new era for smartphones. In the years that followed, however, the foldable market didn’t flourish as I had hoped. Samsung appears to be the only company to succeed.
It looks like 2022 could be the year we see the foldable market gain some traction.
Yesterday, Honor released the Honor Magic V, which has very high specs and should theoretically be better foldable than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3.
Of course, good specs don’t necessarily mean a good phone. Foldables have proven difficult to master, and it’s safe to say that Samsung is at the forefront of this niche market of smartphones.
The big question is will the phone launch internationally?
For now, that’s still an unknown, and the company hasn’t decided whether it will launch the phone globally, which doesn’t sound very promising. That almost certainly means it will be months before UK/EU buyers have a chance to buy it.
OPPO also recently threw their hat into the foldable ring with the Oppo Find N, a slightly smaller foldable with a more squared-off form factor and a lower price point. While the Honor Magic V appears to launch directly after the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3, the Find N appears to offer an alternative to appeal to those who want something different from the Fold2.
For me, the most important thing is to see new brands bring foldables to market. They’re still a few years away from becoming mainstream devices, but hopefully now that Samsung has some competition, the overall quality and price of these devices will improve.
Honor Magic V vs Oppo Find N vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 Specifications
| Specification | Glory Magic V | Samsung Z Fold3 | OPPO Find N |
| exhibit | 7.9-inch, 90hz AMOLED (expand) |
7.6-inch, 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X (expand) |
7.1-inch, 120hz LPTO AMOLED (expand) |
| exhibit | 6.4 inches, 120Hz (fold) |
6.2 inches, 120Hz (fold) |
5.49 inches, 60Hz (fold) |
| RAM | 12GB | 12GB | 8/12GB |
| storage | 256/512GB | 256/512GB | 256/512GB |
| rear camera | 50 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), PDAF, laser autofocus 50 MP, f/2.0, 20mm (wide), PDAF 50 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 122˚, (ultra wide) |
12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (W), 1/1.76″, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.6″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚, 12mm (ultra wide), 1.12µm |
50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, omnidirectional PDAF, OIS 13 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.4″, 1.0µm, 2x optical zoom, PDAF 16 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 123˚ (ultra wide), 1/3.09″, 1.0µm |
| Front camera | 42 MP, f/2.4, (wide) | 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3″, 1.22µm Override the camera: 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3″, 1.22µm |
32 MP, f/2.4, 26 mm (wide), 1/2.74 in, 0.8 microns Override the camera: 32 MP, f/2.4, 26 mm (wide), 1/2.74 in, 0.8 microns |
| chipset | Snapdragon 8 1st generation | Snapdragon 888 5G | Snapdragon 888 5G |
| software | Android 12 | Android 11 | Android 11 |
| Battery | 4,750mAh (66W) | 4,400mAh (25W) | 4,500mAh (33W) |
| price | Over £1500? | £1,200 | £1,600 |
display and size
- Glory Magic V
- 7.9″, 90hz AMOLED 2272 x 1984
- 6.4 inches, 120Hz 2560×1080
- Samsung Z Fold 3
- 7.6-inch, 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X
- OPPO Find N
- 7.1-inch, 120hz LPTO AMOLED
The Honor has the largest display, with an external display about the size of many small flagship phones available. Each display also has a higher resolution than Samsung or OPPO.Again, the smaller display has the same resolution as most regular phones
Both Samsung and OPPO use premium AMOLED displays to achieve larger screens, running at 120Hz with a dynamic refresh rate.
Of course, all these different display sizes make a difference in size. The OPPO Find N stands out from the crowd, being noticeably shorter than the other two, but wider than the Samsung when unfolded. This gives you an almost square shape that will be the Find N’s main selling point.
Samsung and Honor are similar in height, but Honor is 1.3cm wider than Samsung when folded.
Show crease/durability
There’s no getting around the fact that the folding displays of these phones have creases, and all of these phones will be more fragile than regular-shaped phones.
It’s obviously too early to judge the durability of Honor or OPPO, but it seems logical to assume Samsung has an edge here.It’s also the only phone with IPX8 water resistance
chipset
Samsung launched last year, so it uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 888.
OPPO made the odd decision to use the Snapdragon 888 as well. The reason is unclear, it could be to keep costs low, or they have taken so long to develop that they have to use older technology. SD888 is very powerful, so it’s not a big problem.
Honor Magic V features the latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen1, which gives them a distinct advantage.
camera
I think the difference in cameras is important.
Samsung has opted for a common 12MP triple-lens setup. It’s fine, but considering the price, it’s not a disappointing flagship.
Honor takes a more flagship approach with a triple 50MP camera layout. However, they don’t reveal much about those specs, especially the 50Mp f/2.0 20mm “spectral enhancement” sensor. So the jury is out on how good this setup is.
OPPO isn’t going after anything ultra-premium either. 50MP/13MP telephoto/16MP ultra-wide angle is the same as mid-to-high end Oppo Find X3 Neo.
Battery
All three phones have similar battery capacities. The Honor is the biggest at 4750mAh, but it also needs to drive their larger screen.
The OPPO Find N has a capacity of 4500 mAh, and its smaller display should give it the advantage of long battery life.
Samsung only has 4400 mAh.
You can quickly charge the Honor with 66W charging, but not wireless charging. OPPO is followed by 33W and 15W wireless. Finally, Samsung, which has a standard charging speed of 25W/11W
Price and Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G is ridiculously expensive at £1599, but they corner the market and these are very niche phones.
There’s no official UK price for the OPPO Find N yet, but you can get it from Giztop for $1,629.00, which is £1200
The Honor starts at CNY 9,999 ($1,570, £1,154) and 512GB of storage at CNY 10,999 ($1,725, £1,270). Grey imports and UK official prices will be significantly higher. If it launches in the UK, I’d expect it to be close to Samsung’s price.
comprehensive
The new Honor Magic V is undoubtedly a powerful and impressive phone. Many of its specs are more attractive than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G.
The two main things to consider are its overall size. That’s a lot bigger than Samsung and probably one of the main reasons to buy it or not. If you’re a power user who likes big monitors, this is very appealing.
There are still issues with the overall durability and quality of the foldable display, but I think the quality of this display is comparable to Huawei Mate X2 (The two phones are very similar overall).
